“Both are committed to staying,” Corbat said yesterday in
a conference call with analysts held by the New York-based bank.
“I’ve spent a good part of today with members of our senior
management and without exception they are committed to our
firm.”

Corbat, 52, and Chairman Michael O’Neill are seeking to
assure investors there will be a smooth transition after the
departure of Pandit, who left after failing to win approval from
federal regulators for increased shareholder payouts. Chief
Operating Officer John Havens also departed. The new CEO was
promoted from the job running Citigroup’s operations in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa after heading the Citi Holdings unit,
which contained assets tagged for sale.

“Contrary to speculation, no strategic, regulatory or
operating issue precipitated the resignation nor is there
another shoe to drop,” O’Neill said on the call. “And
certainly there is no issue of conduct or ethics.”

Pandit named Gerspach CFO in July 2009 in the wake of
Citigroup’s $45 billion bailout from U.S. taxpayers. Gerspach,
59, had been chief accounting officer.

Leach, Pandit and Havens worked at Morgan Stanley before
leaving the New York-based firm to form the Old Lane Partners LP
hedge fund. Pandit appointed Leach as Citigroup’s top risk
manager in February 2008, soon after he became CEO.

‘We Just Wonder’

Michael Mayo, an analyst with CLSA Ltd., asked whether
O’Neill sought Pandit’s resignation and if the departure was
related to compensation. Pandit spoke with analysts on Oct. 15
about the company’s third-quarter results.

“Just yesterday we were asking Vikram Pandit questions on
the earnings call and he was talking about long-term strategy,
and now today we have a new CEO,” said Mayo, who has an
underperform rating on the firm’s shares. “We just wonder what
were some of the steps behind the scenes.”

O’Neill said that Pandit’s departure was “categorically”
not related to compensation. The bank had been preparing a
succession plan for more than two years, he said.

“Vikram offered his resignation and the board accepted
it,” O’Neill said. “I’m proud of what we’ve done and we
were very well prepared when this occurred.” O’Neill said the
company considered internal and external candidates.

Citigroup climbed 1.6 percent yesterday to $37.25 in New
York. The company has rallied 42 percent this year after
dropping 44 percent in 2011.

Streamlining, Focus

“The streamlining and the focus of the business model and
shedding things that were non-core, I think were the right and
smart moves,” Corbat said. “At this point, we feel good
about the strategy, we feel the strategy is right and we feel
like we’ve got to be focused and execute.”